Modular battery configured for wire bonding

ABSTRACT

Aspects of a modular clip for an electric battery module, a battery module comprising multiple such modular clips, and a battery pack comprising multiple battery modules are provided. The modular clip includes a housing configured to receive a plurality of battery cells. The modular clip may further comprise at least one interconnect plate. The modular clip may further comprise a retainer plate including a plurality of top cell recesses, each of the plurality of top cell recesses may comprise an opening to enable wire bonds between electrical terminals of a battery cell and the at least one interconnect plate. The battery module may comprise a plurality of wire bonds between at least one voltage sensing PCB and the at least one interconnect plate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/948,820, entitled “Modular Battery Configured for Wire Bonding” andfiled on Apr. 9, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/626,050, entitled “Modular Battery Configuredfor Wire Bonding” and filed on Feb. 3, 2018; and is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/948,451, entitled“Modular Battery” and filed on Apr. 9, 2018, which the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/626,042, entitled “Modular Battery”and filed on Feb. 3, 2018, the entire contents of each of which areexpressly incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND Field

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to an electricbattery module and an electric battery pack with modular design.Specifically, aspects of the present disclosure relate to an electricbattery module configured for wire bonding.

Description of the Related Art

Electric batteries may be used in a number of applications. As oneexample, electric batteries may be used to power electric vehicles inplace of a combustion engine in order to reduce fuel consumption andvehicle emissions pollution. Electric vehicles are environmentalfriendly and do not exhaust any byproducts. Currently, car manufacturersare focusing on the development of battery powered electric vehicles formass markets. One of the key challenges of electric vehicles is thebattery pack design. The auto industry places demands on the powerdensity, energy density and safety of the batteries and push for thedevelopment of batteries that combine high performance with low cost.However, the conventional battery pack design is not adapted for massassembly and production. The manual assembly and production of thebattery pack contributes to the high cost of electrical vehicles.

Electric batteries may also be used for energy storage systems, e.g., tostore energy for utilities and/or to supply power to a residential orcommercial buildings, or a power plant. Thus, electric batteries withhigh performance and low manufacturing costs are desirable for bothmobile applications as well as stationary energy storage applications.

There exists a need for further improvement in electric batterytechnology in order to ramp up electric vehicles production further andtarget the mass market.

SUMMARY

In light of the above described problems, aspects presented hereinprovide electric battery module, e.g., a modular clip, configured forimproved wire bonding. The modular clip is configured to be a sub-moduleof the a battery module that may be a component within a battery pack.

One of the problems of battery packs is the conventional soldering andwelding process. Groups of individual battery cells are commonlyconnected together with a soldering or welding process. The conventionalsoldering and welding process has several drawbacks, such as anundesirable time requirement, induced thermal stresses, requiredpost-process cleaning, minimal flexibility, and poor quality control andmonitoring.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a modular clip for a battery module isdescribed that provides a solution to the problems associated with theconventional soldering and welding. The modular clip includes a housingconfigured to receive a plurality of battery cells. The housing includesa retainer plate. The retainer plate includes a plurality of top cellrecesses, where each of the plurality of top cell recesses comprises anopening extending through the retainer plate to enable a firstelectrical terminal of a battery cell to be connected with a firstinterconnect plate to form a first wire bond through the opening, and toenable a second electrical terminal of the battery cell to be connectedwith a second interconnect plate to form a second wire bond through theopening. For example, the opening may include a top portion and a bottomportion, where the top portion and the bottom portion have differentshapes. The housing may include a clip shell. The clip shell may includea base portion, a first wall extending from the base portion, and asecond wall extending from the base portion and spaced from the firstwall. The base portion may also be referred to as a bottom cellretainer. The base portion may include a plurality of bottom cellrecesses where each of the plurality of bottom cell recesses configuredto receive a battery cell. The modular clip may further comprise atleast one interconnect plate configured to connect at least a subset ofthe plurality of battery cells to a controller board via a voltagesensing Printed Circuit Board (PCB).

In another aspect of the disclosure, a battery module is provided. Thebattery module includes a plurality of modular clips. Each modular clipis configured to receive a plurality of battery cells. Each modular clipincludes a housing configured to receive a plurality of battery cells.The housing includes a retainer plate. The retainer plate includes aplurality of top cell recesses, where each of the plurality of top cellrecesses comprises an opening extending through the retainer plate toenable a first electrical terminal of a battery cell to be connectedwith a first interconnect plate to form a first wire bond through theopening, and to enable a second electrical terminal of the battery cellto be connected with a second interconnect plate to form a second wirebond through the opening. For example, the opening may include a topportion and a bottom portion, where the top portion and the bottomportion have different shapes. The housing may include a clip shell. Theclip shell may include a base portion, a first wall extending from thebase portion, and a second wall extending from the base portion andspaced from the first wall. The base portion may also be referred to asa bottom cell retainer. The base portion may include a plurality ofbottom cell recesses, where each of the plurality of bottom cellrecesses configured to receive a battery cell. The modular clip mayfurther comprise at least one interconnect plate configured to connectat least a subset of the plurality of battery cells to a controllerboard. The battery module may further comprise at least one controllerboard coupled to the at least one interconnect plate via at least onevoltage sensing PCB. The battery module may comprise a plurality of wirebonds between the at least one voltage sensing PCB and the at least oneinterconnect plate.

In another aspect, a battery pack is provided, the battery packcomprising multiple battery modules, each battery module including aplurality of modular clips. Each modular clip includes a housingconfigured to receive a plurality of battery cells. The housing includesa retainer plate. The retainer plate includes a plurality of top cellrecesses, where each of the plurality of top cell recesses comprises anopening extending through the retainer plate to enable a firstelectrical terminal of a battery cell to be connected with a firstinterconnect plate to form a first wire bond through the opening, and toenable a second electrical terminal of the battery cell to be connectedwith a second interconnect plate to form a second wire bond through theopening. For example, the opening may include a top portion and a bottomportion, where the top portion and the bottom portion have differentshapes. The housing may include a clip shell. The clip shell may includea base portion, a first wall extending from the base portion, and asecond wall extending from the base portion and spaced from the firstwall. The base portion may also be referred to as a bottom cellretainer. The base portion may include a plurality of bottom cellrecesses, where each of the plurality of bottom cell recesses isconfigured to receive a battery cell. The modular clip may furthercomprise at least one interconnect plate configured to connect at leasta subset of the plurality of battery cells to a controller board. Thebattery module may further comprise at least one controller boardcoupled to the at least one interconnect plate via at least one voltagesensing PCB, and the at least one voltage sensing PCB connected to theat least one interconnect plate. The battery module may comprise aplurality of wire bonds between the at least one voltage sensing PCB andthe at least one interconnect plate.

The battery modules configured for wire bonding disclosed herein haveseveral advantageous over conventional battery packs. Wire bondingtechnologies offer the advantageous of high performance and avoid theneed for the removal of post-cleaning residue after forming the bonds.Wire bonding offers a quality monitoring system that evaluates each andevery bond, without any negative impact to production throughput. Aplurality of openings provided in the retainer plates may be configuredto enable high quality wire bonds while also optimizing or minimizingthe exposed areas of the battery cells. Wire bonds can be establishedbetween the terminals of the battery cells to the interconnect plates.Further, by placing the voltage sensing PCB in the close proximity ofthe interconnect plates, wire bonding can be applied to establishconnection between the interconnect plates and the voltage sensing PCBs.Therefore, the assembly and production of the battery modules can bemore efficient, with higher quality and more cost-effective connectionsthan conventional manual soldering and welding can provide. Notably, thebattery modules configured for wire bonding can improve batteryperformance while also reducing the cost of a battery pack comprisingsuch battery modules. Specifically, the battery modules configured forwire bonding can help to ramp up production of electric batteries forvarious applications, e.g., including battery packs for electricvehicles and/or energy storage applications, in order to reach the massmarket.

Additional advantages and novel features of aspects of the presentinvention will be set forth in part in the description that follows, andin part will become more apparent to those skilled in the art uponexamination of the following or upon learning by practice thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates example systems including an electric battery pack,in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C illustrate example aspects of a battery pack, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example battery module, in accordance with aspectspresented herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of an example battery module, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates a base plate of an example battery module, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates a side view of an example battery module, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 7 illustrates a view of an example battery module havinginterconnect plates and retainer plates removed, in accordance withaspects presented herein.

FIG. 8A illustrates a side view of a modular clip, in accordance withaspects presented herein.

FIG. 8B illustrates a cross section view of the modular clip in FIG. 8Awithout battery cells, in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 8C illustrates a cross section view of the modular clip in FIG. 8Awith battery cells, in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 8D illustrates a perspective view of the modular clip in FIG. 8A,in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 8E illustrates a top view of the modular clip in FIG. 8A, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 8F illustrates a bottom view of the modular clip in FIG. 8A, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 8G illustrates a cross-section view of the modular clip in FIG. 8A,in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 8H illustrates an end view of the modular clip in FIG. 8A, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 9A illustrates a modular clip having different examples ofprismatic batteries, in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 9B illustrates an example modular clip configuration having asingle linear row of cells of any number, in accordance with aspectspresented herein.

FIG. 9C illustrates an example modular clip being configured to receivetwo staggered rows of battery cells, in accordance with aspectspresented herein.

FIG. 9D illustrates an example modular clip 906 with curved walls, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 10A illustrates an exploded view of the modular clip in FIG. 8Awith battery cells, in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 10B illustrates an exploded view of the modular clip in FIG. 8Awithout battery cells, in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 11A illustrates a perspective view of an example modular clipshell, in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 11B illustrates a side view of the example modular clip shell inFIG. 11A, in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 11C illustrates a top view of the example modular clip shell inFIG. 11A, in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 12A illustrates a perspective view of an example retainer plate, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 12B illustrates a top view of the retainer plate in FIG. 12A, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 12C illustrates a side view of the retainer plate in FIG. 12A, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 12D illustrates a bottom view of the retainer plate in FIG. 12A, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 12E illustrates an enlarged perspective view of an openingconfigured for wire bonding in the retainer plate in FIG. 12A, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 12F illustrates an enlarged bottom view of the opening configuredfor wire bonding in the retainer plate in FIG. 12A, in accordance withaspects presented herein.

FIG. 12G illustrates an enlarged top view of the opening configured forwire bonding in the retainer plate in FIG. 12A, in accordance withaspects presented herein.

FIG. 12H illustrates an enlarged perspective view of the openingconfigured for wire bonding in the retainer plate in FIG. 12A, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 12I illustrates the details of the opening, a first wire bond and asecond wire bond of a battery cell.

FIG. 13A illustrates a perspective view of an example interconnectplate, in accordance with aspects presented herein, in accordance withaspects presented herein.

FIG. 13B illustrates a top view of the example interconnect plate inFIG. 13A, in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 14A illustrates a perspective view of an example interconnect platepositioned on a modular clip at a side of a battery module, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 14B illustrates a perspective view of another example interconnectplate positioned on a modular clip at a side of a battery module, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 15 illustrates a retainer plate having a plurality of barriers, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 16 illustrates a battery module having a plurality of ultra-sonicpins, in accordance with aspects presented herein.

FIG. 17 illustrates a perspective view of an example battery module withwire bonds between a voltage sensing PCB and the interconnect plates, inaccordance with aspects presented herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails.

Several aspects of electric batteries, battery packs, battery modules,and modular sub-components of battery modules will now be presented withreference to various examples.

FIG. 1 illustrates examples of systems that may include an electricbattery pack 102 in accordance with the aspects presented herein. Thebattery pack may be comprised in an energy storage system for commercialand/or residential buildings 108. Energy storage systems may be used tostore energy for utilities and/or to supply power to a residential orcommercial building(s). Energy storage systems may be a component of apower plant or power generation system, e.g., for utilities. FIG. 1illustrates a power generation system 110 having battery pack 102 aspart of an energy storage system. While wind turbines are illustratedfor the power generation system 110, solar and other forms of powergeneration are equally application.

The battery pack 102 may also be comprised within an electric vehicleand coupled to an electric motor 104 to drive the vehicle 106. Asillustrated, the battery pack 102 may be used for different types ofvehicles, including vehicles having internal combustion engines,including medium duty vehicles and heavy duty vehicles. The battery pack102 may be part of a rechargeable battery system for the electricvehicle 106. The battery pack 102 may be coupled to an electric motor104 that drives the vehicle and may provide a particular voltage/currentto the electric vehicle. In one example, the electric vehicle 106 maycomprise a fully electric vehicle driven entirely from stored electricpower. In another example, the electric vehicle 106 may operate in ahybrid manner using both fuel combustion and stored electric power tooperate the vehicle. In yet another example, the electric vehicle 106may operate in various modes, e.g., a mode in which the vehicle relieson the battery pack for vehicle propulsion without a combustion engine,a hybrid mode in which the battery pack is used in combination with acombustion engine to drive the vehicle, and/or a combustion mode.

As described herein, battery packs and battery modules may be assembledin order to provide different voltages for different applications, e.g.,for various vehicle types or for different battery storage applications.Aspects presented herein may be applied to batteries having varyingsizes, voltages, and capacities.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example diagram of battery pack 102. The batterypack 102 may comprise multiple battery modules 210, each battery module210 (also referred to interchangeably herein as a “module”) comprising aplurality of modular battery clips 204, as described in connection withFIGS. 3-15. Although three battery modules 210 are illustrated in FIG.2A, any number of battery modules may be included in the battery pack,e.g., according to the desired voltage, desired capacity, etc. of thebattery pack. Similarly, while FIG. 2A illustrate an example batterymodule comprising three battery clips, each battery module may includeany number of battery clips, e.g., according to the desired voltage,desired capacity, etc. of the battery module. Although seven modularbattery clips 204 are illustrated in each of the battery modules in thebattery pack in FIG. 2A, any number of modular battery clips may beincluded in each of the battery modules in the battery pack. Eachbattery module may comprise a Battery Management System (BMS). Eachbattery module 210 may comprise a slave BMS board (also referred tointerchangeably herein as a “controller board”, “slave controllerboard”, or “slave board”), that may be coupled to a master BMS board 214for the battery pack 102. The slave BMS board 212 of each battery module210 may be directly connected to the master BMS board 214, asillustrated by connections 216.

The battery pack may include electrical connections, e.g., a positiveand negative connection. FIG. 2A illustrates connectors 220 and 230 forthe battery pack 102, e.g., for coupling the battery pack with theelectric motor 104 of a vehicle 106, an electrical system of a building108, and/or power generation system 110. The battery pack may comprise afuse 222, a current sensor 224, and a contactor 226 coupled via an inputbus bar that connects to a first module 210. The order of components222, 224, 226 may be changed, and additional sensors, such astemperature sensors, may be included in the battery pack. The batterymodules 210 may be connected to each other, e.g., in series asillustrated in FIG. 2A or in parallel, as illustrated in FIG. 2B,depending on the desired voltage for the application. Thus, the numberof battery modules and the manner in which the modules are connected toeach other may vary depending on a desired voltage/capacity for thebattery pack. A last battery module 210 may be coupled to contactor 228and electrical connection 230, e.g., via an output bus bar.

The battery pack may also include a disconnect component 232 positionedbetween each of the modules 210. For example, a mid-pack disconnect maybe provided to selectively break the connection between battery modules210. Among others, the disconnect component 232 may comprise a switch ora physical component that is removed from the battery pack in order toprevent a complete circuit. The disconnect component 232 provides asafety feature so that the battery pack 102 can be safely serviced. Thebattery pack may also comprise ducting components, e.g., duct 240, toprovide air flow for each of the battery modules 210 in order to providetemperature control for the battery pack. The battery pack may alsoinclude a casing in which the components of the battery pack arepositioned.

FIG. 2C illustrates example alternate connections between batterymodules 210.

In FIG. 2A, the modules are connected to each other in series. In theexample in FIG. 2A, the voltage of the battery pack 102 will be equal tothe sum of the voltage of the individual modules 210. In FIG. 2C, themodules 210 are connected in parallel via connections 234. The voltageof the battery pack 102 in FIG. 2C will be the voltage of a singlemodule, because the modules are connected in parallel. However, thebattery pack in FIG. 2C will have an increased capacity due to each ofthe modules 210. FIG. 2B also illustrates an alternate connectionbetween the master BMS board 214 and the slave BMS boards 212. In FIG.2A, the master BMS board 214 has a point-to-point connection with eachindividual slave BMS board 212. In FIG. 2B, a daisy chained connectionmay be used to couple the master BMS board to at least a subset of theslave BMS boards 212. As illustrated, the master BMS board 214 may havea direct connection to only a single (or a reduced number of) slave BMSboards 212, which may in turn have a connection 218 to at least oneother slave BMS board 212.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a single battery module 210. Thebattery pack 102 in FIGS. 1 and 2 may include multiple such batterymodules 210, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The battery module 210 comprisesa base plate 302 and a plurality of modular clips 304, each modular clipconfigured to hold a plurality of battery cells. A side wall of a singlemodular clip 304 at an edge/side of the battery module 210 is visible inFIG. 3.

The base plate 302 may comprise a plastic, e.g., a polycarbonate orother plastic. The base plate may be injection molded using the plastic.However, the base plate may also be made with other materials and/othermethods. For example, the base plate may comprise a metal such asaluminum or steel. The base plate may be machined or die cast ratherthan injection molded. The modular clip 304 may comprise a plastic,e.g., a polycarbonate or other plastic. The modular clip may bemanufactured using injection molding. Depending on the application, theplastic for the base plate and/or modular clips may be selected toinclude an acceptable flame resistant rating. The plastic may further beselected based on the expected temperature range for a particularapplication.

A plurality of interconnect plates 306 are included on a top of thebattery module opposite the base plate 302. The interconnect plates 306may comprise a conductive material, such as copper. The interconnectplate 306 may comprise an strip shaped interconnect plate that ispositioned to overlap two adjacent modular clips. However, as shown inFIG. 3, the interconnect plate (307 or 308), which is positioned on amodular clip at a side of the battery module 210, may have an L-shapecross-section.

If portions of the base and/or clip are manufactured with a metal, itmay be problematic for the base/clip to come into contact withinterconnect plates 306. Thus, a nonconductive coating may be applied toany metal portions of the base or clip. Each interconnect plate 306 maypartially overlap two, adjacent modular clips 304. The interconnectplates 306 may be shaped to enable connections with battery cells oneach side of the interconnect plates 306. A connection, such as a wirebond may be established between the interconnect plates and each of theplurality of cells on the two sides of the interconnect plates. The sideinterconnect plates 307 or 308, disposed at a side of the module 210,may overlap only a single modular clip. The side interconnect plates 307or 308 may receive connections from cells in only a single modular clip,in contrast to inner interconnect plates 306. Connectors 310 may providea connection point for connecting or otherwise coupling the module 210to other modules, e.g., in series or in parallel, and to the othercomponents of the battery pack 102, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

The module 210 includes at least one voltage sensing Printed CircuitBoard (PCB) 314 and at least one controller board 312 (e.g.,corresponding to slave BMS board 212 in FIG. 2). FIG. 2 illustrates anexample in which the module may have a single slave controller board212. FIG. 3 illustrates an example in which the module may comprise twoslave controller boards 312. The number of slave controller boards maybe based on the capabilities of a particular slave board, e.g., thenumber of rows of cells in series that the slave controller can monitorand control. The number of slave controller boards may also be based ona number of cells connected in series. The slave controller board 212,312 may be configured to control/monitor a voltage of each bank ofbattery cells and to balance the voltage. The slave controller board mayalso be configured to read other sensor readings such as temperaturereadings at temperature sensors positioned at a subset of battery cells.A master controller board 214 may control the slave controller boardsand control discharging/charging of battery modules 210. In addition tothe slave controller board 312, the module 210 may further comprise atleast one PCB board 314, e.g., a voltage sensing PCB. The PCB board 314may be connected to each interconnect plate in order to measure voltagesbetween groups of cells. The PCB 314 may then be connected to the slavecontroller board. As sown in FIG. 3, the controller board 312 may becoupled to the plurality of interconnect plates 306 via the voltagesensing PCB 314. The voltage sensing PCB 314 replaces direct connectionbetween the controller board 312 and the plurality of interconnectplates 306.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example module 210 having 12 rows of modularclips, where each modular clip is able to receive 21 battery cells. InFIG. 3, the module has been configured as two electrical modules ondifferent sides of the bus bar 316. On each half of the module, the 12rows of modular clips each receive 10 battery cells. Thus, the twoelectrical groupings of the module 210 form a 12 s 10 p array (12 is thenumber in series, 10 is the number in parallel), with the overall moduleproviding a 24 s 10 p grouping (24 is the number in series, 10 is thenumber in parallel).

FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of the battery module 210. As illustratedin FIG. 4, ten battery cells 402 a, 402 b may be positioned in a modularclip on each side of the bus bar 316. A single modular clip may receiveand hold each of battery cells 402 a and 402 b. However, the cells inthe single modular clip may be grouped into the two electrical groupsbased on the use of separate interconnect plates 306 and sideinterconnect plates 307, 308 on different sides of the bus bar 316.

In another example, the module may not have a bus bar, and theinterconnect plates 306 and side connect plats 307, 308 may extendacross a full length of the module rather than half of the length, asillustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Such a configuration would lead togroupings of 21 battery cells connected in parallel, and 12 rowsconnected in series, e.g., a 12 s 21 p grouping (12 is the number inseries, 21 is the number in parallel). The cells connected in parallelwill be charged/discharged together. This configuration would providehalf of the voltage of the two electrical modules of FIGS. 3 and 4, andwould provide double the capacity.

The number of rows of modular clips and the number of battery cells thata particular modular clip is able to receive in FIG. 3 are merelynon-limiting examples. Any number of rows of modular clips may beincluded in a battery module. For example, a module may comprise between2-50 modular clips, e.g. between 2-24 modular clips. The design can alsobe extended beyond 50 modular clips per battery module. The number ofmodular clips in each module may be determined based on any of a numberof factors, e.g., any combination of size limitations, weightlimitations, assembly needs, voltage requirements, capacityrequirements, etc. For example, a battery pack for energy storage maynot have the same size and weight limitations as an electric vehicle andmay comprise a higher number of modular clips in a single batterymodule. Similarly, the number of cells that a modular clip is configuredto receive may vary. A modular clip may be configured to receive 2 ormore battery cells. A range based on typical size and weightrestrictions may comprise between 2-50 battery cells. However, theconfiguration itself does not place a limit on the number of batterycells or the number of modular clips combined in a single battery module210. Similar to the basis for the number of modular clips 304 in amodule 210, the number of cells 402 within a modular clip 304 may beselected based on any of a number of factors, e.g., any combination ofsize limitations, weight limitations, assembly needs, voltagerequirements, capacity requirements, etc.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate an example in which the module 210 may beconfigured to include multiple electrical modules, the differentelectrical modules sharing the same set of modular clips yet beingseparated by bus bar 316. In this example, the bus bar is positionedacross the modular clips at a central position. While the clipsphysically form unitary rows, the electrical connections formed by theset of interconnects 402 a, 402 b may form two electrically separatemodules. For example, the interconnect plates 306 and side interconnectplates 307, 308 extend only to the bus bar 316. Then, a separate set ofinterconnect plates 306 are provided on the other side of the bus bar316.

The configuration of the module 210 as two separate electrical moduleenables the module 210 to achieve a voltage double that of a singleelectrical module, because the configuration doubles the number ofgroups of battery cells 402 that are coupled in series. Each electricalmodule comprised in the battery module 210 may comprise a connection toa separate PCB 314.

If a higher voltage is desired, additional bus bars beyond bus bar 316may be provided to further group the cells into electrically separatemodules. Thus, a single bus bar 316 at a center cell position of themodular clips, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 is merely one example ofthe use of a bus bar to separate the module 210 into electricallyseparate modules. The side opposite the inlet duct, e.g., duct 318, mayinclude an additional outlet duct, e.g., for the purposes of collectingand directing the outlet air. For example, the outlet air could also becirculated through additional modules, e.g., as described in connectionwith duct 240 in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example base plate 302 to which multiple modularclips 304 may be mounted to form a battery module 210. The base platemay include openings to receive at least one fastener to hold each ofthe module clips to the base plate. For example, opening 502 a mayreceive a fastener at one side of a modular clip 304, and opening 502 bmay receive a fastener at the opposite side of the modular clip 304. Thebase plate 302 may also include a positioning feature that assists inpositioning the modular clips 304 on the base plate 302. For example,the base plate may comprise at least one raised portion, e.g., a button,for positioning the modular clips on the base plate. The modular clipmay comprise a corresponding indent shaped to match the raised portion.The raised portion in the base plate and the matching indent in themodular clip assist the modular clips in being positioned with thecorrect spacing on the base plate. FIG. 5 illustrates an example inwhich the raised portions may surround the openings 502 a, 502 b thatreceive the fastener to couple the modular clips 304 to the base plate302. The base plate may also comprise a raised portion 504 that runsparallel to the direction in which the modular clips 304 will extendwhen fastened to the base plate.

FIG. 6 illustrates a side of battery module 210. For example, this openside of the battery module 210 may be the side through which the airexits cooling paths formed by the modular clips in some embodiments.FIG. 3 illustrates dashed lines showing the path through which air willexit the module 210. The side of the module 210 visible in FIG. 6 may besubstantially open to allow air flow to freely exit from the path orchannel formed by each modular clip. A single battery cell 402 in eachof the 12 rows of modular clips is visible in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 illustrates a cross section view of the module 210 along a planeparallel to the base plate 302, in which the interconnects and retainerplate 806 have been removed so that the linear rows of battery cells 402are visible in each modular clip. Each of the modular clips comprisestwo walls 304 a and 304 b that extend from a base portion of the modularclip. The battery cells 402 are received into the modular clip andpositioned between the two walls 804 a, 804 b, e.g., in at least onelinear row. In FIG. 7, the central cell position in each modular clip304 is illustrated as being empty and does not include a battery cell402. The bus bar 316 may be positioned at this central location, forexample.

FIGS. 8A-8H illustrate an example of a modular clip 304 for assembly ina battery module 210. FIG. 8A illustrates a side view of the modularclip 304. The modular clip 304 includes a housing configured to receivea plurality of battery cells 402. FIG. 8B illustrates a cross section ofthe modular clip 304 prior to insertion of battery cells 402, and FIG.8C illustrates a cross section of the modular clip 304 having batterycells 402 inserted into the housing. FIG. 8C illustrates a position 814at which no battery cell has been inserted. This may be the position ofthe bus bar 316, for example.

Referring to FIGS. 8A-8C, the housing of the modular clip 304 mayinclude a clip shell 801. The clip shell 801 may include a base portion802. The base portion 802 may comprise a plurality of bottom cellrecesses 812 configured to surround a bottom portion of each of thebattery cells 402. The plurality of bottom cell recesses 812 are alignedalong a first linear direction. FIGS. 8B and 8C illustrate the bottomcell recess 812 formed as an indent in the base portion 802 and having ashape corresponding to a bottom exterior of the battery cell 402. InFIGS. 8B and 8C, the bottom cell recess 812 comprises acircular/cylindrical indent. However, for battery cells of differentshapes, e.g., prismatic, hexagonal, triangular, square, etc., the indentmay be similarly formed with a corresponding shape to receive thebattery cell, as illustrated in FIG. 9A. Each of the plurality of bottomcell recesses 812 is configured to receive a battery cell 402.

FIG. 8D illustrates a perspective view of the modular clip 304, FIG. 8Eillustrates a top view of the modular clip 304, FIG. 8F illustrates abottom view of the modular clip 304, FIG. 8G illustrates a cross sectionview of the modular clip 304, and FIG. 8H illustrates an end view of themodular clip 304. As shown in FIGS. 8D-8H, the clip shell 801 of themodular clip 304 also includes a first wall 804 a and the second wall804 b extending from the base portion 802 and spaced from the first wall804 a. The first wall 804 a and the second wall 804 b may have anelongated shape. The length of first wall 804 a and the second wall 804b may be between 2 inches to 50 inches. For example, the length of firstwall 804 a and the second wall 804 b may be between 20 inches to 25inches. The plurality of battery cells 402 are received in the housingbetween the first wall 804 a and the second wall 804 b.

Referring to FIGS. 8A-8H, the modular clip 304 may also comprise a topportion 806, referred to interchangeably herein as a “retainer plate” ora “top cell retainer.” The base portion 802 and walls 804 a, 804 b maybe formed as a unitary piece, and the retainer plate 806 may beconfigured as a separate piece of the modular clip 304 that is attachedafter the battery cells 402 are inserted into the modular clip 304. Inother examples, the base portion 802 and the walls 804 a, 804 b maycomprise separate components that are coupled together along with theretainer plate to form the modular clip 304. The retainer plate 806 maycomprise upper/top cell recesses 810, shaped to surround a portion ofthe top exterior of the battery cell 402. The plurality of top cellrecesses 810 may be aligned with the plurality of bottom cell recesses812 so that a battery cell can be received into a corresponding toprecess 810 and bottom recess 812. Thus, a pair of a top cell recess 810and bottom cell recess 812 may jointly surround portions of a batterycell at each end of the cell, e.g., a top and bottom of the batterycell. The cell retainers provide mechanical support to the cells in theevent of a shock to the battery pack and controls the spacing betweenbattery cells in the modular clip 304.

Thus, within a modular clip 304, the battery cells 402 may be positionedat a set spacing from adjacent cells. Cell spacing may be selected to bepassive propagation resistant (PPR) for the particular cell and wallspacing of the modular clip. The spacing may be determined empiricallybased on the configuration of the modular clip, the particular batterycells, the chemistry of the battery cells, the specification of thebattery cells, the charge capacity of each cell, etc. The gap betweenbattery cells within the row of a single modular clip may be greaterthan approximately 5 mm, 4 mm, 3 mm, 2 mm, or 1 mm, etc. In one example,the gap between battery cells within the row of a single modular clipmay be greater than approximately 2 mm. The bottom recesses and toprecesses may enable the battery cells to be slip fit into the modularclip. The bottom cell recess may have a depth in the range ofapproximately 2 mm to approximately 20 mm, or a depth of up to ⅓ theheight of a battery cell. The retainer plate 806 may comprise an openingcorresponding to each of the plurality of cells. The opening may beconfigured to enable a connection to be made to the upper portion of thecell and the interconnect plates 306, side interconnect plates 307, or308.

FIGS. 8A-8H also illustrate extending portions 808 a, 808 b that mayextend from each side of the modular clip 304. The extension portions808 a, 808 b may comprise openings configured to align with the openings502 a, 502 b in the base plate 302. A fastener may be inserted throughthe openings 808 a, 808 b, 502 a, 502 b and fastened in order to couplethe modular clip 304 to the base plate 302. Openings 808 a, 808 b mayeach comprise a compression limiter 880 a or 880 b, that is configuredto prevent the extending portion 808 a, 808 b from being crushed whenthe modular clip is fastened to the base plate 302. The compressionlimiter may comprise a different material than the modular clip. Forexample, the modular clip may comprise a plastic, and the limiter maycomprise a metal. For example, the compression limiter may comprise ametal ring positioned inside the opening 808 a, 808 b. The fastener maycomprise a threaded fastener, such as a screw. The modular clips mayalso be fastened to the base plate using other fastening mechanisms,e.g., including a tab attachment piece at the modular clip, an adhesive,a heat pin, etc.

FIGS. 8A-8H also illustrate the modular clip 304 comprising at least oneinterconnect plate 306 configured to connect at least a subset of theplurality of battery cells 402 to a controller board. The at least oneinterconnect plate 306 extends across a portion of the modular clips304, the portion corresponding to a subset of the plurality of batterycells 402 positioned in a subset of the bottom cell recesses 812.

Various types of battery cells 402 may be used in connection with theaspects presented herein. The battery cell may comprise a lithium-ionbattery cell. Other examples of the chemistry of the battery cell maycomprise nickel-metal hydride, lead-acid, lithium iron-phosphate,lithium titanate, etc. While cylindrical battery cells are illustratedin FIG. 7, the battery cells may comprise a prismatic cell, cylindricalcells, or other geometries.

FIG. 9A illustrates a modular clip 910 having different examples ofprismatic batteries, e.g., having a square cross-section 912, arectangular cross-section 914, a triangular cross section 916, and ahexagonal cross-section 918. The cell retainers in the modular clips maybe shaped according to the exterior shape of selected battery cell.Similarly, the aspects presented herein may be configured for use withbattery cells of various sizes. One example of a cylindrical batterycell may be a 10 mm diameter and a 70 mm length. Other shapes/sizes ofbattery cells are equally applicable to use in the modular clip designpresented herein. For example, another size battery cell may comprise a18 mm diameter and 65.5 mm length, etc. The modular clip may be scaledto the size of any particular battery cell.

FIG. 9B illustrates an example modular clip 902 configuration having asingle linear row of cells of any number. In FIGS. 3-8H, the modularclips are illustrated as having linear walls 804 a, 804 b to formstraight rows of battery cells. The modular clips are also illustratedas only having a single row of battery cells. The plurality of bottomcell recesses 812 are aligned along a first linear direction. Theplurality of modular clips 304 can be aligned along a second lineardirection perpendicular to the first linear direction. Similarly, theplurality of bottom cell recesses may be aligned along a first lineardirection, as in FIG. 9B. For example, at least one cell position 904may be left unoccupied. This may be for a bus bar 316 position to createdifferent electrical units for the cells within a modular clip304/battery module 210 or for other uses.

It is advantageous to have modular clips with a plurality of bottom cellrecesses 812 being aligned along a first linear direction. For example,modular clips with linear row configuration may improve efficiency formass production and assembly. However, the modular clips may also haveother configurations.

In addition, a linear row configuration can be advantageous for thecooling of the battery module 210. Each modular clip 304 can furtherinclude a cooling path, e.g., a gap, channel, or opening, that extendsalong the length of the modular clip past each of the cell holders thatreceive battery cells. The cooling path may comprise a gap or channelbetween a wall of the clip and the battery cells. Thus, when batterycells 402 are inserted into the cell holders 812, the cooling pathdirects air to flow through the length of the clip 304, flowing past andaround the battery cells 402. FIGS. 8G and 8H illustrate an example gapbetween walls 804 a, 804 b and the battery cell 402 that may form atleast part of the cooling path.

FIG. 9C illustrates an example modular clip 906 being configured toreceive two staggered rows of battery cells. As shown in FIG. 9C, afirst subset of the plurality of bottom cell recesses may be alignedalong a first linear direction, and wherein a second subset of theplurality of bottom cell recesses may be aligned along a second lineardirection parallel to the first linear direction. Thus, the secondsubset of bottom cell recesses may be positioned at a staggered positionrelative to the first subset of bottom cell recesses. The modular clipswith two staggered rows of battery cells may have a higher batterydensity that a configuration with a single row. However, the staggeredconfiguration may have a different cooling path gap spacing between theinterior of the walls 804 a, 804 b and the exterior of the battery cells402 than for a single row of battery cells. The staggered configurationin FIG. 9C may similarly have a different cell spacing between adjacentbattery cells 402 than a clip 304 configured to receive a single row ofbattery cells 402.

FIG. 9D illustrates an example modular clip 908 with curved walls, e.g.,walls 804 a, 804 b. The plurality of bottom cell recesses in the modularclip 908 are aligned along a curved direction. For example, the walls ofthe modular clip may have a curved, rounded, arced, or other customizedshape. Thus, the modular clips, battery modules, and battery packdescribed herein may be shaped to fit to a customized position in avehicle or other structure, for example, in order to effectivelymaximize the number and/or placement of battery modules.

FIG. 10A illustrates an exploded view of the modular clip 304 withbattery cells 402. FIG. 10B illustrates an exploded view of the modularclip 304 without cells. The modular clip 304 may be a submodule for abattery module. The modular clip 304 comprises a housing configured toreceive a plurality of battery cells. The housing includes the clipshell 801. The clip shell 801 includes a base portion 802, a first sidewall 804 a, and a second side wall 804 b. The base portion 802 includesa plurality of bottom cell recesses 812, each of the plurality of bottomcell recesses 812 is configured to receive a battery cell 402, e.g., ina slip fit manner. Each of the plurality of bottom cell recesses 812comprises an indent shaped to surround an exterior of a battery cell402. The first wall 804 a extends from the base portion 802, and thesecond wall 804 b extends from the base portion 802 and spaced from thefirst wall 804 a. The plurality of bottom cell recesses 812 are alignedalong a first linear direction, for example.

As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the modular clip 304 can further includea retainer plate 806 at a top side of the modular clip. The retainerplate 806 may also be referred to as a “top/upper cell retainer.” Theretainer plate 806 can include a plurality of top cell recesses 810. Thetop cell recesses 810 are shaped to surround a portion of the topexterior of the battery cell 402. The plurality of top cell recesses 810may be aligned with the plurality of bottom cell recesses 812. Thus, apair of a top cell recess 810 and bottom cell recess 812 may jointlysurround portions of a battery cell at each end of the cell, e.g., a topportion and a bottom portion of the battery cell.

FIGS. 11A-11C illustrate a perspective view, a side view and a top viewof an example modular clip shell 801. The clip shell 801 can have anelongated shape and include the base portion 802, the first side wall804 a, and the second side wall 804 b. Each of the plurality of bottomcell recesses 812 can have a circular indent shaped to surround anexterior of the battery cell 402. An opening may be provided in theindent, e.g., and shaped to surround a bottom vent of a battery cell.The bottom cell recess 812 may have a depth in the range ofapproximately 2 mm to approximately 20 mm, or a depth of up to ⅓ theheight of a battery cell. The clip shell 801 can further includesextending portions 808 a, 808 b that may extend from each side of theclip shell. The extension portions 808 a, 808 b may comprise openingsconfigured to align with the openings in the base plate of the batterymodule. Openings 808 a, 808 b may each comprise a compression limiterthat is configured to prevent the extending portion 808 a, 808 b frombeing crushed when the clip shell 801 is fastened to the base plate. Themodular clip 801 and base plate 302 may include at least one channelpositioned between the base plate and modular clip to enable ventingfrom a battery cell through the opening in the indent shaped bottomrecess to an exterior of the battery module.

FIGS. 12A-12D illustrate a perspective view, a top view, a side view anda bottom view of an example retainer plate 806. The retainer plate 806is configured to connect to the clip shell to secure the plurality ofbattery cells 402, and further configured to connect to the interconnectplates 306 or side connect plates 307, 308, which provide electricalpowers to the battery cells 402. The retainer plate 806 can include aplurality of top cell recesses 810. The plurality of top cell recesses810 are aligned with the plurality of bottom cell recesses 812. Thus,when the plurality of bottom cell recesses are aligned along a firstlinear direction, the plurality of top cell recesses 810 are alsoaligned along the first linear direction. When the plurality of bottomcell recesses are aligned along a curved direction, the plurality of topcell recesses 810 are also aligned along the curved direction.

As shown in FIGS. 12A-12D, each of the plurality of top cell recesses810 may comprise an opening 860 extending through the retainer plate806. The opening may have a circular shape at a bottom side of the cellrecess, which is closer to the battery cells, for example. The circularshape may be shaped to the exterior of the battery cell, e.g., toreceive the battery cell in a slip fit manner. From the bottom view inFIG. 12D, each of the plurality of top cell recesses 810 comprises anindent shaped to surround a top portion of an exterior of the batterycell. The shape of the indent at the bottom side of the retainer plate306 corresponds to the shape of an indent of the bottom cell recesses inthe base portion of the clip shell. The opening 860 in the retainerplate 806 may have a different shape at a top side (or exterior side)than the shape at the bottom side (or interior side in which the batterycell is held).

FIGS. 12E-12H illustrate further details of the opening 860, which isconfigured for wire bonding. Wire bonding is an ultrasonic metal-metalfriction welding process. The process starts with a wire placed underthe tip of a slim, rod-like bonding tool. A defined force is applied,pressing the wire onto the electrode surface and causing an initialcold-straining at the contact area. The power element comes from anultrasonic transducer that generates mechanical vibrations. This processoccurs at room temperature and no external heat is necessary. Wirebonding technologies offer the advantageous of high performance, nopost-cleaning residue to remove afterwards and offer a qualitymonitoring system that evaluates each and every bond, without anynegative impact to production throughput. Wire bonding technologies alsoprovide challenges for battery pack design. The opening 860 at theretainer plate is specifically configured to provide high quality wirebonds and optimize, e.g., minimize, the exposure area of a battery cell402.

The modular clip may be configured to enable more accurate and moreefficient wire bonding. As shown in FIGS. 12E-12H, the opening 860 inthe retainer plate 806 may include a top portion 860 a and a bottomportion 860 b, where the top portion and the bottom portion havedifferent shapes. The bottom portion 860 b may include an indent shapedto surround an exterior of a battery cell. For example, if the batterycell is a cylindrical cell, the bottom portion 860 b may have a circularshape with a diameter that matches a diameter of a cross section of thecylindrical battery cell. If a prismatic cell is used in the modularclip, the bottom portion 860 b may have the indent matching an exteriorshape of the cell, i.e. a squared opening for a square cell, a triangleopening for a triangle cell, etc.

The top portion 860 a of the opening 860 may be shaped for a differentpurpose than the bottom portion 860 b, e.g., to enable accurate wirebonding while protectively covering a portion of the battery cellterminals. For example, when the cell is a cylindrical cell, the bottomportion may have a circular shape, while the top portion 860 a mayinclude a first part 861 having a partial circular shape and a secondpart 862 may have in an asymmetric shape. The first part 861 of opening860 may have a first radius of curvature 861 a, and a segment of thesecond part may have a second radius of curvature 862 a. The secondradius of curvature 862 a may be larger than the first radius ofcurvature 861 a. The smaller radius of curvature protects a portion ofthe battery cell's terminal, while the larger radius of curvatureprovides an opening sized for wire bonding. For another example, whenthe cell is a square prismatic cell, the bottom portion 860 b of theopening 860 may be square/rectangular to match the exterior shape of thecell, while the top portion 860 a may include a first part 861 in a halfcircular shape, since the square prismatic cell may still have a roundpositive connection tab, and a second part 862 in an asymmetric shape.

FIG. 12I illustrates the details of the opening 860 and a first wirebond 871 and a second wire bond 872 of a battery cell 402. The firstpart 861 of the opening 860 is configured to enable a positiveelectrical terminal 1230 of a battery cell 402 to be connected with afirst interconnect plate 306 a to form the first wire bond 871. Thepositive electrical terminal 1230 may form a center portion of the topof the battery cell 402. In FIG. 12I, the positive electrical terminalcomprises a circular shape at the top of the battery cell 402. Thesecond part 862 of the opening 860 is configured to enable a negativeelectrical terminal 1232 of the battery cell 402 to be connected with asecond interconnect plate 306 b to form the second wire bond 872. Thenegative electrical terminal 1232 may be formed around a perimeter ofthe top of the battery cell. Thus, the opening 860 in the retainer platemay be shaped to enable both wire bonds, e.g., the first bond 871 fromthe positive electrical terminal 1230 and the second bond 872 from thenegative electrical terminal 1232 to be formed at the same side of thebattery cell 402. Because the positive terminal is at a center of thebattery cell and the negative terminal is at an upper perimeter of thebattery cell, the second radius of curvature 862 a is larger than thefirst radius of curvature 861 a. The smaller radius of curvature 862 aprotects at least a portion of the negative electrical terminal frommaking an unintended electrical connection.

Additionally, the top portion 860 a and the bottom portion 860 b mayform a lip 860 c in which the bottom portion 860 b covers at least apart of the upper perimeter of the battery cell, but the top portion 860a is cut away to establish a stepped portion. The lip, e.g., steppedportion, 860 c facilitates a wire bond 872 to be established between aninterconnect plate, e.g., 306 b, and the negative electrical terminal1232 around the perimeter of the battery cell 402. As illustrated inFIG. 12G, the top portion 860 a of the opening 860 may further compriselinear portions.

Referring to FIGS. 12E-121, the bottom portion 860 b may include anindent in a circular shape with a third radius of curvature 863, whichmatches the diameter of the cross section of the battery cell. The thirdradius of curvature 863 is larger than the first radius of curvature 861a and is smaller than the second radius of curvature 862 a. The firstradius of curvature 861 a is smaller than the third radius of curvature863 in order to hold the battery cell to provide support. The secondradius of curvature 862 a is larger than the third radius of curvature863 in order to provide enough opening for the wire bond 872, whichneeds to be tangential to an perimeter surface 402 a of the battery cell402. For example, the perimeter surface 402 a of the battery cell 402may have a circle in a cross section. The slightly larger second part862 may also leave space for a second attempt at a wire bond 872 in casea mistake in an initial wire bond occurs, a central portion of thesecond part 862 can be used for the second attempt of the second wirebond 872. The two-portion asymmetric opening 860 is configured toprovide high performance wire bonds and optimize, e.g., minimize, theexposed area of the battery cell 402.

As shown in FIG. 12I, the opening 860 may be configured to enable afirst electrical terminal 1230 of the battery cell 402 to be connectedwith the first interconnect plate 306 a and to enable a secondelectrical terminal 1232 of the battery cell 402 to be connected withthe second interconnect plate 306 b. The first interconnect plate 306 aand the second interconnect plate 306 b are positioned at opposite sidesof the opening 860. Both the first wire bond 871 and the second wirebond 872 are positioned at a top of the modular clip 304.

Referring back to FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B, the retainer plate 806 canfurther comprise a plurality of heat stakes 822 and a plurality oflocating buttons 824, 825. The plurality of heat stakes 822 and theplurality of locating buttons 824, 825 may be configured to assist withcorrect alignment of the interconnect plate with the retainer plate 806and to connect the retainer plate 806 to at least one of a plurality ofinterconnect plates 306, 307, 308. The top cell recesses 810 at theretainer plate 806 may be shaped to surround a portion of an exterior ofthe battery cell 402 to provide mechanical support to the cells in theevent of a shock to the battery pack. The top cell recesses 810 receiveand stabilize the battery cells. The retainer plate 806 may comprise anopening corresponding to each of the plurality of cells. The opening maybe configured to enable a connection to be made to electrical terminals1230, 1232 at a top portion of the cell 402 and the interconnect plates306, 307, 308.

FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B illustrate a perspective view and a top view of anexample interconnect plate, in accordance with aspects presented herein.A plurality of interconnect plates 306 may be included at a top of eachmodular clip 304 of the battery module 210. As shown in FIGS. 13A and13B, the interconnect plate 306 may comprise a strip shaped interconnectplate positioned to overlap two adjacent modular clips. However, asshown in FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B, a side interconnect plate may comprise adifferent shape, e.g., an L-shape cross-section. A connection, such as awire bond may be established between central interconnect plates 306 andrespective batter cells on the two sides of the interconnect plates. Theside interconnect plates 307, 308 in FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B may receiveconnections from battery cells in only a single modular clip 304, e.g.,a modular clip positioned at a side of the base plate 302. Theinterconnect plates 306, 307 and 308 may comprise a plurality of holes322, 324, and 325, corresponding to the plurality of heat stakes andlocating buttons in the retainer plate, in order to align and connect tothe retainer plate to the interconnect plate. In addition, theinterconnect plates 306, 307 and 308 may also comprise a plurality ofcut-outs 1302, corresponding to the plurality of openings 860 in theretainer plate, in order to enable electrical connections between theterminals of the battery cells and the interconnect plates to beestablished through the opening in the retainer plate.

FIG. 15A illustrates the retainer plate 806 configured for wire bonding.The retainer plate 806 may include a plurality of barriers 850 on theupper surface of the retainer plate. Referring to FIG. 12I and FIG. 15A,each of the barriers 850 may protrude or extend upward from the surfaceof the retainer plate 806. Because the closeness of the terminals 1230,1232 of the battery cells 402 and the interconnect plate 306 a, an arcmay be formed between the electrical terminals and the interconnectplate, resulting in short circuit. Further, an arc may also occurbetween the interconnects of two adjacent modular clips or between awire bond and an unintended interconnect, which may result in a shortcircuit. The short circuit can render the modular clip unusable orineffective, and can cause problems for the entire set of battery cellsconnected in parallel. Because the battery cells 402 can overheat andrupture when short circuited, a short circuit can be catastrophic, notonly to the battery cell being shorted, but to the other battery cellsas well. Even non-shorted batteries can be overheated to the point atwhich they will overheat and rupture, e.g., due to a short circuitedbattery cell. It is desirable to prevent such a short circuit. Thebarrier 850 can provide a physical barrier designed to prevent the arcfrom being formed between an electrical terminal/wire bond on one sideof the barrier and an interconnect plate on the other side of thebarrier. For example, the barrier 850 might be positioned between theelectrical terminal 1230, 1232 of the battery cell 402 and theinterconnect plate 306 a. The barrier 850 can further provide a barrierto prevent the arc being formed between the interconnects of twoadjacent modular clips 306 a and 306 b, as shown in FIG. 12I. Thebarrier 850 may have a height that extends higher than an anticipatedwire bond between the battery cell and the opposite interconnect plate.The height of the barriers 850 may be equal to or greater than thethickness of the interconnect plates 306 a, 306 b. For example, thebarrier 850 may have a height of 1.5 times the thickness of theinterconnect plates 306 a and 306 b. For example, the interconnectplates 306 a and 306 b have a thickness of 1.0 mm, and the barriers 850may have a height of 1.5 mm.

As shown in FIG. 15, the retainer plate 806 may further comprise aplurality of heat stakes 822 and locating buttons 824, 825. The retainerplate 806 may be connected with the interconnect plate 306 by using heatto deform the heat stake 822 and lock the two components 806, 306together. The interconnect plate 306 may be positioned against theretainer plate such that the heat stakes 822 extend through openings 322in the interconnect plate 306. Then, heat and pressure may be applied tothe heat stake 822 to melt the heat stake and cause it to expand overthe opening 822 to form a fastener holding the interconnect plate 306 inposition against the retainer plate 806 of the modular clip 304. Heatstaking the interconnect plate 306 to the retainer plate 806 enables thetwo components to be fastened in a quick and consistent manner. Heatstaking may provide the ability to join plastics to other materials(e.g. metal, PCB's) in addition to joining like or dissimilar plastics.The retainer plate 806 may comprise the plurality of heat stakes 822 andthe plurality of locating buttons 824 and 825. The interconnect plates306, 307 and 308 comprise the corresponding plurality of holes 322, 324,and 325. The locating buttons 824 and 825 may be used to performalignment of the interconnect plate 306 relative to the retainer plate806. Some of the locating buttons may be 4-way locating buttons thatrestrict the position of the interconnect plate 306 relative to theretainer plate 806 in four directions. Some of the locating buttons maybe 2-way locating buttons that restrict the position of the interconnectplate 306 relative to the retainer plate 806 in two directions. Theinterconnect plates 306, 307 and 308 may comprise holes havingcorresponding shapes and sizes to the 4-way locating buttons and/or2-way locating buttons. The retainer plate may also be connected withthe interconnect plate in many other ways, not being limited to the heatstaking process. For example, the retainer plate may be adhered to theretainer plate, bolted or otherwise fastened to the retainer plate, etc.

FIG. 16 illustrates a battery module 210 having a plurality of knurledpins 826 b at a side modular clip 304 to hold in place a sideinterconnect plate 308. Referring to FIGS. 12A-16, the side interconnectplates 307, 308 positioned at the side of the battery module 210 mayhave a different configuration and may need to fasten to the modularclip in a different manner than the other interconnect plates 306. Forexample, the side interconnect plate 308 may be held in place byfasteners. For another example, the side interconnect plate 308 may beheld in place by knurled pins, ultrasonically installed. Ultrasonicallyinstalled knurled pins 826 b may be used to connect the sideinterconnect plate 308 to the retainer plate 806 in order to enable asingle modular clip 304 to be used regardless of the placement of themodular clip within a battery modular 210.

As shown in FIG. 16, it might not be practical for a heat stakingprocess to be used to fasten side retainer plate 308 to modular clip 304at a side of the battery module 210. In order to fasten a sideinterconnect plate 308, a heat stake 822 would need to be provided onboth sides of a modular clip. However, if a heat stake were provided ata modular clip 304 to fasten the side interconnect 308, the modular clipwould not be compatible with the middle modular clips that areoverlapped by two strip shaped interconnect plates 306, because the heatstake would block placement of at least one of the interconnect plates.In order to enable a single modular clip design to be configured forplacement at any position, e.g., a middle position or a side position,on the base plate, a different fastening mechanism may need to beprovided for the side interconnect 308. The retainer plates may be massmanufactured with the heat stakes disposed only at one side, in orderfor the interconnect plates to overlap two adjacent retainer plates oftwo adjacent modular clips. Thus, for the opposite side of the heatstakes, the retainer plates 806 may include a plurality of holes 826 forreceiving a fastener to fasten an interconnect plate in a differentmanner. The corresponding side interconnect plates 308 may also includea plurality of holes 326, corresponding to the plurality of holes 826.Among other types of fasteners, in one example, the knurled fastener 826b can be ultrasonically inserted into both holes 326 and 826 andinstalled to connect the side interconnect plate 308 and the retainerplate 806 together. Thus, the retainer plate 806 may comprise at leasttwo different type of fastening mechanisms (e.g., a heat stake and anopening configured to receive a fastener such as an ultrasonicallyinstalled knurled fastener) to fasten interconnect plates to theretainer plate. Both types of fastening mechanisms may be compatiblewith placement of the modular clip 304 at various positions within abattery module 304, e.g., at an end/side clip position or in a middleposition between adjacent clips.

FIG. 17 illustrates a perspective view of an example battery module withinterconnect plates 306, 307 and 308. As shown in FIG. 17, the batterymodule comprises a base plate 302, a plurality of modular clips 304coupled to the base plat 302. Each of the plurality of modular clips 304is configured to be a sub-module of the battery module 210. Each of theplurality of modular clips 304 includes at least one interconnect plate306 configured to connect at least a subset of the plurality of batterycells to at least one controller board 312. The battery module 210 canfurther include at least one controller board 312 coupled to the atleast one interconnect plate 306 via at least one voltage sensing PCB314. The battery module 210 can further include the at least one voltagesensing PCB 314. Each electrical module of the battery module 210includes one voltage sensing PCB. For example, the battery module 210having two electrical module includes two voltage sensing PCBs 314 atboth sides of the module (the voltage sensing PCB 314 at one side isunder the cover, not shown in FIG. 15). In cases where there is morethan one bus bar 316, resulting in more than two separate electricalmodules within a single battery module, the single battery module willalso have more than two voltage sense PCBs 314.

Referring to FIG. 12I and FIG. 17, the battery module 210 can furthercomprise a plurality of wire bonds 873 between the voltage sensing PCBs314 and the interconnect plates 306, 307 and 308. The voltage sensingPCB 314 may be positioned within a close proximity of the interconnectplates 306, 307 and 308 in order to be wire bonded with these componentswithout requiring the battery module to be placed in a second wirebonding machine and/or without requiring the battery module to bereplaced in the same wire bonding machine. For example, the distancebetween the voltage sensing PCB 314 and the interconnect plates 306, 307and 308 may be 0, 5 mm, 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, or 50 mm, or anyvalues there between. For example, the voltage sensing PCB 314 and theinterconnect plates 306, 307 and 308 may be positioned at a same topside of the battery module 210 such that the wire bonds between thevoltage sensing PCBs 314 and the interconnect plates 306, 307 and 308,and the wire bonds between the terminals of the battery cells 402 andthe interconnect plates 306, 307 and 308 can be established by one wirebonding machine in one process. The PCB 314 may couple the interconnectplates to a controller board 312. A single connection may be used toconnect the PCB 314 and the controller board 312. Therefore, the wirebonds 873 from the interconnect plate 306, 307, 308 to the PCB 314 mayreplace the need to form an individual connection between each of theinterconnects 306, 307, 308 and the controller board 312.

The battery module 210 can comprise multiple electrical modules sharingthe same plurality of modular clips 304. Each electrical module cancomprise a plurality of battery cells 402 received in a subset of thebottom cell recesses 812 of the plurality of modular clips 304. Eachelectrical module can comprise a plurality of interconnect plates 306extending across a portion of the modular clips 304, where the portioncorresponds to the subset of the bottom cell recesses 812. The multipleelectrical modules may be coupled via a bus bar 316. A battery pack 102can comprise a plurality of such battery modules 210.

It is advantageous to have the battery modules 210 configured for wirebonding, as disclosed herein. Wire bonding between the terminals of thebattery cells 402 and the interconnect plates 306 offers the advantagesof high performance connections without no post-cleaning residue toremove afterwards. Additionally, wire bonding between the terminals ofbattery cells 402 and the interconnects 306 offers a quality monitoringsystem that evaluates each and every bond, without any negative impactto production throughput of the battery modules. The plurality ofopenings 860 in the retainer plates 806 can be configured to enable highquality wire bonds while optimizing or minimizing the exposed areas ofthe battery cells 402. Further, by placing the voltage sensing PCB inthe close proximity of the interconnect plates, wire bonding can beapplied to establish connection between the interconnect plates 306, 307and 308, and the voltage sensing PCBs 314. In this way, the entiremodule 210 can be put under a wire bonding machine in an automaticassembly line to establish the electrical connections. Therefore, theassembly and production of the battery modules can be established moreefficiently. The electrical connections have a higher quality and aremore cost-effective than conventional manual soldering and welding.

Notably, the battery modules configured for wire bonding can improve theperformance and reduce the cost of a battery pack 102 with batterymodules 210. Specifically, the battery modules 210 configured for wirebonding can help to ramp up production of electric batteries for variousapplications, e.g., including battery packs for electric vehicles and/orenergy storage applications, in order to reach the mass market.

Example aspects of the present invention have now been described inaccordance with the above advantages. It will be appreciated that theseexamples are merely illustrative of aspects of the present invention.Many variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled inthe art.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in theprocesses disclosed is an illustration of exemplary approaches. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged. Further, somesteps may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims presentelements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to belimited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

As used herein in the specification and claims, including as used in theexamples and unless otherwise expressly specified, all numbers may beread as if prefaced by the word “about” or “approximately,” even if theterm does not expressly appear. The phrase “about” or “approximately”may be used when describing magnitude and/or position to indicate thatthe value and/or position described is within a reasonable expectedrange of values and/or positions. For example, a numeric value may havea value that is +/−0.1% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−1%of the stated value (or range of values), +/−2% of the stated value (orrange of values), +/−5% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−10%of the stated value (or range of values), etc. Any numerical rangerecited herein is intended to include all sub-ranges subsumed therein.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” The word “exemplary” is used hereinto mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspectdescribed herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects.” Unless specificallystated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinationssuch as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and“A, B, C, or any combination thereof” include any combination of A, B,and/or C, and may include multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiplesof C. Specifically, combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,”“at least one of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof”may be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B andC, where any such combinations may contain one or more member or membersof A, B, or C. Furthermore, relative terms such as “lower,” “bottom,”“top,” “upper,” etc. may be used to describe an element's relationshipto another element, as illustrated in the examples in the drawings. Itwill be understood that relative terms are intended to encompassdifferent orientations of an apparatus in addition to the orientationdepicted in the drawings. By way of example, if an apparatus in thedrawings is turned over, elements disclosed as being on the “bottom” or“lower” would be on the “top” or “upper” and elements described as beingon the “top” or “upper” would be on the “bottom” or “lower.” Allstructural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or latercome to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construed asa means plus function unless the element is expressly recited using thephrase “means for.”

The invention claimed is:
 1. A modular clip for a battery module, themodular clip comprising: a housing configured to receive a plurality ofbattery cells, the housing including: a retainer plate including aplurality of top cell recesses and at least one barrier extending from atop side of the retainer plate, wherein each of the plurality of topcell recesses comprises: an opening extending through the retainer plateand shaped to open around at least a portion of a first electricalterminal of a battery cell and to open around at least a portion of asecond electrical terminal of the battery cell, when the battery cell isreceived in the housing, wherein the opening includes a top side and abottom side, wherein the top side and the bottom side have differentshapes, wherein at the bottom side of the opening, the retainer platecomprises a cell recess shaped to surround an exterior of the batterycell, when the battery cell is received in the housing; and a first wirebond from the first electrical terminal of a first battery cell to afirst interconnect plate and a second wire bond from the secondelectrical terminal of the first battery cell to a second interconnectplate, wherein the first interconnect plate and the second interconnectplate are positioned at opposite sides of the opening, and wherein theat least one barrier is positioned between the first electrical terminalof the battery cell and the first interconnect plate, when the batterycell is received in the housing.
 2. The modular clip of claim 1, whereinthe housing further comprises: a clip shell including: a base portionincluding a plurality of bottom cell recesses configured to receivebottom portions of the plurality of battery cells when received in thehousing; a first wall extending from the base portion; and a second wallextending from the base portion and spaced from the first wall.
 3. Themodular clip of claim 1, wherein the top side of the opening comprisedin the retainer plate includes a first part having a partial circularshape, and a second part having an asymmetric shape.
 4. The modular clipof claim 3, wherein the first part has a first radius of curvature, anda segment of the second part has a second radius of curvature that isdifferent than the first radius of curvature, and wherein the bottomside of the opening comprised in the retainer plate includes an indenthaving a circular shape with a third radius of curvature that isdifferent than the first radius of curvature and the second radius ofcurvature.
 5. The modular clip of claim 4, wherein the third radius ofcurvature is larger than the first radius of curvature, and wherein thethird radius of curvature is smaller than the second radius ofcurvature.
 6. The modular clip of claim 1, wherein the modular clip isconfigured to receive and position the plurality of battery cells in alinear direction, wherein the first interconnect plate is strip shapedand extending in the linear direction.
 7. The modular clip of claim 1,wherein the retainer plate further comprises: a plurality of heatstakes.
 8. The modular clip of claim 1, wherein the retainer platefurther comprises: a plurality of locating buttons configured to alignthe retainer plate with the first interconnect plate.
 9. The modularclip of claim 1, wherein the retainer plate further comprises aplurality of holes configured to receive a fastener for connecting theretainer plate to a side interconnect plate disposed at a side of themodular clip.
 10. The modular clip of claim 1, further comprising: theplurality of battery cells positioned in the housing.
 11. The modularclip of claim 1, wherein the first wire bond and the second wire bondare both formed at a same side of the modular clip.
 12. The modular clipof claim 1, further comprising: a voltage sensing Printed Circuit Board(PCB); and a controller board, wherein at least one of the firstinterconnect plate or the second interconnect plate connect at least asubset of the plurality of battery cells to the controller board via thevoltage sensing PCB.
 13. A battery module for a battery pack assembly,the battery module comprising: a base plate; and a plurality of modularclips coupled to the base plate, each of the plurality of modular clipsincluding: a housing configured to receive a plurality of battery cells,the housing including: the plurality of battery cells positioned in thehousing; a retainer plate including a plurality of top cell recesses,wherein each of the plurality of top cell recesses comprises: an openingextending through the retainer plate and shaped to open around at leasta portion of a first electrical terminal of a battery cell and to openaround at least a portion of a second electrical terminal of the batterycell, when the battery cell is received in the housing, wherein theopening includes a top side and a bottom side, wherein the top side andthe bottom side have different shapes, wherein at the bottom side of theopening, the retainer plate comprises a cell recess shaped to surroundan exterior of the battery cell, when the battery cell is received inthe housing; and a first wire bond from the first electrical terminal ofa first battery cell to a first interconnect plate and a second wirebond from the second electrical terminal of the first battery cell to asecond interconnect plate, wherein the first interconnect plate and thesecond interconnect plate are positioned at opposite sides of theopening, wherein the first wire bond and the second wire bond are bothformed at a same side of a modular clip comprised in the battery module.14. The battery module of claim 13, wherein the top side of the openingcomprised in the retainer plate includes a first part having a partialcircular shape, and a second part having an asymmetric shape.
 15. Thebattery module of claim 14, wherein the first part has a first radius ofcurvature, and a segment of the second part has a second radius ofcurvature that is different than the first radius of curvature, whereinthe bottom side of the opening comprised in the retainer plate includesan indent having a circular shape with a third radius of curvature thatis different than the first radius of curvature and the second radius ofcurvature.
 16. The battery module of claim 15, wherein the third radiusof curvature is larger than the first radius of curvature, and whereinthe third radius of curvature is smaller than the second radius ofcurvature.
 17. The battery module of claim 13, wherein each modular clipis configured to receive and position the plurality of battery cells ina linear direction, wherein the first interconnect plate is strip shapedand extending in the linear direction.
 18. The battery module of claim13, wherein the retainer plate further comprises: a plurality of heatstakes.
 19. The battery module of claim 13, wherein the retainer platefurther comprises: a plurality of locating buttons configured to alignthe retainer plate with the first interconnect plate.
 20. The batterymodule of claim 13, wherein the retainer plate further comprises aplurality of holes configured to receive a fastener for connecting theretainer plate to a side interconnect plate disposed at a side of thebattery module.
 21. The battery module of claim 13, wherein the retainerplate further comprises at least one barrier extending from the top sideof the retainer plate.
 22. A battery pack comprising: a plurality ofbattery modules, each battery module including: a base plate; and aplurality of modular clips coupled to the base plate, each of theplurality of modular clips including: a housing configured to receive aplurality of battery cells, the housing including: the plurality ofbattery cells positioned in the housing, a retainer plate including aplurality of top cell recesses, wherein each of the plurality of topcell recesses comprises:  an opening extending through the retainerplate and shaped to open around at least a portion of a first electricalterminal of a battery cell and to open around at least a portion of asecond electrical terminal of the battery cell, when the battery cell isreceived in the housing, wherein the opening includes a top side and abottom side, wherein the top side and the bottom side have differentshapes, wherein at the bottom side of the opening, the retainer platecomprises a cell recess shaped to surround an exterior of the batterycell, when the battery cell is received in the housing; an interconnectplate included at a top of each of the plurality of modular clips; and awire bond connected to the interconnect plate and connectable to thefirst electrical terminal of the battery cell.
 23. The battery pack ofclaim 22, wherein the top side of the opening comprised in the retainerplate includes a first part having a partial circular shape, and asecond part having an asymmetric shape.
 24. The battery pack of claim23, wherein the first part has a first radius of curvature, and asegment of the second part has a second radius of curvature that isdifferent than the first radius of curvature, and wherein the bottomside of the opening comprised in the retainer plate includes an indenthaving a circular shape with a third radius of curvature that isdifferent than the first radius of curvature and the second radius ofcurvature.
 25. The battery pack of claim 24, wherein the third radius ofcurvature is larger than the first radius of curvature, and wherein thethird radius of curvature is smaller than the second radius ofcurvature.
 26. The battery pack of claim 22, further comprising: a firstwire bond from the first electrical terminal of a first battery cell toa first interconnect plate and a second wire bond from the secondelectrical terminal of the first battery cell to a second interconnectplate, wherein the first interconnect plate and the second interconnectplate are positioned at opposite sides of the opening.
 27. The batterypack of claim 26, wherein the first wire bond and the second wire bondare both formed at a same side of a modular clip comprised in a batterymodule of the battery pack.